This Is Your Life, a numb3rs fanfic

This song has litterally begged me to write a fic for a year. So I finally succombed. The song is "This is Your Life" by Switchfoot.

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes

Don't close your eyes

Don finished his report on the latest case and turned off his computer. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. The clock on his desk read 10:30 p.m. He had hoped he would be done in time to make it back home to Charlie's for dinner. It looked like another night of frozen Stouffer's.

This was what he hated about his job, the late nights.

This is your life and today is all you've got now
Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

Charlie sat in the dark, his sight illuminated only by the lamp on the end table next to the couch. The clock on the mantle read 10:45. Another late night grading tests. Alan had just gone to bed, but not before telling Charlie not to stay up too long. Charlie had been going over the papers since he got home from the FBI office, stopping only for dinner.

This was what he hated about his job, the late nights.

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

It was closing in on 11:30 when Don shut of his engine. He didn't really feel like going back to his apartment, so he found himself going to Charlie and Alan's place instead. There was a dim light coming through the front window, telling him Charlie was still up, working, no doubt.

Don rubbed his face as he stuck his key in the lock. His little brother pushed himself as hard as he did, sometimes. It was a surprise they hadn't landed themselves in the hospital by now.

Well, maybe there would be leftovers.

Yesterday is a kid in the corner
Yesterday is dead and over

Charlie looked up as he heard the lock click on the front door. He didn't worry, he knew Don was the only one who would be here at this hour.

Ouch, he thought as he glanced at the clock. He hadn't realized it was as late as it was. Looked like he was pulling another all-nighter. And knowing Don, his brother would make sure he got to bed before it was too late-or early, whichever.

"How do you grade papers all night long, get maybe two or three hours of sleep, if that much, and go all day at school?" Don asked, sitting down with a plate of lasagna and a beer.

"How do you work cases 24/7 for days on end?" Charlie countered. "We both do what we have to to get our jobs done."

"Touché," admitted Don.

They were both dedicated to their work, no matter how little sleep they got while on the job.

Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

Don remembered when they were kids and he had trouble with math. He made a deal with Charlie that if the younger boy would help him with his homework, he'd keep the bigger guys at school from beating him up. It hit him as ironic that no matter how far apart they'd drifted, things hadn't changed that much. Charlie was still helping him with his math, and Don was still looking after his little brother.

They were still brothers first.

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be

Alan came downstairs, eight the next morning. He smiled when he looked over at the couch. Both of his boys were asleep with their legs stretched out on the coffee table, but Charlie was slouched over leaning on Don. He loved how his boys were close again. They seemed to be working together pretty well, and he loved it. Well, some of it. He wasn't too crazy about Charlie working with the FBI in the line of fire, but he trusted his eldest to protect him if he was in danger.

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Don blinked his eyes, trying to get his bearings. He realized he was in his bother's house. In fact, Charlie was almost lying on his lap. His first thought was that he needed to get back to the office, but he knew if anything major came up, his team would called him. His second thought was that he really was tired. So for now, he would let them both sleep. The way they lived, they needed all the rest they could get.

But they were closer because if it, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

And you had everything to lose